Constant Distraction:Four Coping Strategies For Coping With Tinnitus

Despite how common tinnitus is, it’s still a mysterious ailment. What exactly causes tinnitus is still unknown. While there are treatment options, a cure to make tinnitus complete go away isn’t yet available.

Hearing aids are an effective tinnitus treatment for my people afflicted with the aggravating condition. Your audiologist can help you find the right one for your specific needs, as the severity of tinnitus widely varies.

Tinnitus:A Noise Only Hear

One reason tinnitus is so hard to treat is because it manifests differently for everyone. Some people hear buzzing or ringing while others have a small orchestra playing in their heads.

The American Tinnitus Association recognises two types of tinnitus – subjective and objective. Subjective tinnitus is a noise in the ears that only the patients can ‘hear.’

Objective tinnitus occurs when others can hear the noises, not just the patient. This type of tinnitus is very rare. Most tinnitus causes are subjective, where only the patient is able to ‘hear’ it.

Irritants:These Things Can Male Tinnitus Worse

Just like there are things that can make tinnitus less noticeable, there are things that can make it worse. In the medical community they are know as ‘irritants’ or ‘stimulants’.

Things that can aggravate your tinnitus include:

• Anxiety

• Stress

• Alcohol

• Caffeine

• Smoking

• Loud Noise

• Earwax

• Lack of sleep

What can tinnitus suffers do to cope with the relentless internal noise?

Four Tips For Coping With Tinnitus

Without a cure, patients are left to their own means of finding a way to lessen their tinnitus. Here are four of the coping strategies for tinnitus.

1. Avoid irritants and other activities that stimulate tinnitus – all of the irritants listed above affect the body in some way that makes the tinnitus worse. Drinking alcohol for example increases blood flow to the inner ear, which can stimulate tinnitus.

2. Invest in a masking device – hearing aids help reduce tinnitus, but most people don’t wear hearing aids to bed. Quiet times such as when you’re trying to sleep are prime times for tinnitus to kick into high gear. White noise machines or other background noises can help drown out the sound of tinnitus.

3. Protect your ears by avoidingexcessive, loud noises – even if you don’t have any hearing left, loud noises can be dangerous to your inner ear. Protecting your ears from loud noises such as rock concerts or construction can help preserve your hearing and lessen your tinnitus.

4. Continue interacting with friends and family – tinnitus can be isolating because it makes communicating over the noise in your ears very difficult. However, isolating often leads to depression, which isn’t good for your mental health OR your tinnitus.

Living With Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a chronic condition, but it doesn’t have to affect your quality of life. Finding a solution to cope with your tinnitus is essential to managing it. Since there isn’t a one-size-fits-all remedy; you may need to try one or more of the coping methods listed above to find one that works for you.